Common Sense and Low Tech   

 by Jeff Frank

Spring follows winter with anticipation, felt by many, but not so much as how the landscape trade feels.  Running businesses year round with a cash flow that is ten months at best, the landscape trade has to begin work in March, and we do not stop until the break in August, then attack again until Christmas, if the weather and thousands of variables come together.  It’s amazing how many things have to come together to make a successful year, no matter how difficult it is; however, we keep on keepin’ on.  Why?
I feel it’s because we’ve all been farmers before in previous lives and it all seems very natural working in nature.  Yes, in nature, not around nature.  We see hundreds if not thousands of landscapers out there.  It doesn’t look too difficult, and somehow we buy some equipment, get some cards printed up, and cut a few lawns, and we’re in business. Simple?  If you read Phil Nilsson’s column in this paper you realize it’s a business just like any other, except we are not prepared for this job, and it’s not simple.  We have to wear all sorts of hats unheard of twenty years ago.  We have to learn estimating, plants, chemicals, soils, sales, equipment, accounting, marketing, business, public relations, be your own advisor and lawyer, speak Spanish or a secondary language, administration, and probably raise a family, have no weekends for yourself – and that’s only scratching the tip of the iceberg.  It’s not simple doing landscaping!  Who does one believe whenyou do ask a question.  Everyone is selling something; everyone wants you to buy their product.  It’s tough!
That’s why an organic approach to your customer’s properties is so important, because it’s so “low tech and common sense”  What exactly do we need to know?  First, all our plants are being affected by airborne pollution, and that affects the soil in a negative way.  It’s been happening that way for years, except we thought it was a problem with the plant, not our air.
Few of us noticed the deterioration of our plants because it was well hidden beside landscape material that survived better or longer, not happier.  Happier?  Yes, plants have a consciousness.  They think and do most of what we do, except, differently; however, that is for another time.  Just remember the name FINDHORN (pronounced fin-horn).
So, plant material began to die out, and we blamed insects and disease, wrong site, wrong light, wrong soil, etc.  Sometimes it is one or all of the above, however, that is only 5% of what the problem is.  Mostly it’s the effects of pollution and cultural practices and malnutrition.  The rain ten years ago was a 5.6 ph.  Today it comes in at 4.4 ph.  That begins the process of decline along with the pollutants that arrive in the air.  Stuff we don’t see but effects us tremendously.  The plant goes into the decline and summons the insect or disease to the plant.  We have no humans in the soil to protect our crops and plantings.  It’s been all used up and its never been replaced.  The minerals in the soil have not been replaced wither, and they are all used up.  No minerals, no organic matter, then no microbes.  No microbes, then no work occurs in the soil and plants die.  A plant gets its immunology from the humans (organic matter) in the soil.  A plant can defend itself against disease and insects if it is in a healthy stress-free state.  Obviously, most of ours are sick and getting sicker.  Using toxic genetic chemical responses makes the situation much worse.  However, that has been the knee jerk reaction to disease and insects – we attempt to kill them.  We do not care about the tree or plant; we want to eliminate the attackers.  We deal with effects rather than causes.  What caused the insects and disease?
 
A brilliant man, Dr. William Albrecht of the University of Missouri once said, “Disease and insects are the symptoms of a failing crop”, and “it’s not the overpowering invader we have to worry about, but the weakened condition of the victim”.Bullies pick on the disadvantaged, its nature.  The lion takes down the sick, old and young, not the healthy.  Disease and insects do the same.                                           
Professor Albrecht made a great point – it’s our soils and the lack of minerals, organic matter and microbes that makes the difference.  Last year I consulted the Creek Club in Locust Valley about their beeches and linden trees in the circle by the club house.  These old trees were dying fast and nothing was working on them.  Bill Jones, the greenskeeper, asked me what to do.  I told him it was pollution that was the hidden culprit.  These trees were big and old, and they were all affected by the problem.  Bill is an intelligent and caring professional, and I told him to use Rouldust minerals and compost to change what was occurring in the soil.  Two months after Bill followed my recommendations, his trees looked good, and now Bill was a believer in the simple “lo tech, common sense” approach. 
If you see a problem, don’t deal in effects – feed the soil and eliminate the causes of our plant decline.  The cure is long lasting, result oriented, and cost effective.  Remember, weeds, insects and diseases are mostly caused by malnutrition.                                             
New figures from a Stanford University research study including the well known Dr. Paul Ehrlich tell us there are probably 1.1 to 6.6 billion populations of living things on the planet.  Assuming habitat destruction is correlated with extinction, the researchers calculated that there are about 16 million populations being wiped out each year or 1,800 per hour!  Remember, extinction is forever.  What can we do to help stop this crazy decline of the planet’s life and ultimately our own extinction?  Don’t use deadly chemicals on anything.  There are organic alternatives for every problem and we have to educate oursleves to the use of them.  Read books from Acres USA, go to the libraries, get on the internet, network with folk that are already using organics.  Don’t be worried about your customers’ properties will look bad because of a transition period.  Follow a good program and it will look better, especially when the dog days of summer are here and your properties look like gangbusters.  Follow your heart and inner consciousness, and you will be pleasantly surprised by the response that nature gives back to you. The job is up to us.  Be a leader – go organic and business will come to you.  Be fair and honest with your dealings and you will be successful…”common sense and low tech”.